Who has insurance for their camera gear?

[scpleta]

Sorry for being naive. How much does the premium costs for having the equipment insured. Say something worth $10,000?

[farmer_rob]

Not insured - my few bits and pieces aren't worth enough. (I have insured our horses in the past and have had two total loss claims - well worth the money, but the horses are worth far more than the camera gear ) We do have extensive insurance cover for our house and farm though.

[bigdazzler]

all my gear, along with my macbook, is listed on my contents insurance as transportable items. Im covered for anything, anywhere. I think Im paying an extra $100 or so a year for the privelege. In the event of a claim on one of the transportable items, the excess is $100 flat.

[Darvidanoar]

Yes and also public liability insurance for shooting motorsport.

Wow, that sounds like such a weird kind of insurance for a photographer to take out ... I could well understand the bikers taking out public liability. I suppose one of those big lenses would hurt if you swung around and hit someone on the side of the head

[kiwi]

Its quite common for especially pro photographers to take out public liability insurance. Imagine at a racetrack IF your lens cap falls off into the path or a car and it crashes into the crowd

Or at a pro rugby match a player trips over you and breaks a leg

Or at a wedding, your light stand at a church falls over. knocks a candle over and burns down the church

Ridiculous examples probably, butt you get the idea

In an increasingly litigious society it's worth thinking about

[Longshots]

not ridiculous at all - all someone has to do is to trip over you, or your bag, or something like that, and opps a daisy, a no win no fee solicitor will be taking your house away. To give you some sense of what companies such as Westfield make me and all subcontractors entering their shopping centres - $30 million (yep 30 Mill !) is the minimum I must have to enter their shopping centres with just my camera. Its the simple causes that can produce the most complex outcomes. Public Liability is an absolute must, if you are out there charging for photography.

Also if any of you are using your contents policy of your home insurance (and for some gear which never leaves my house, I have), and you charge for your photography (make note that I am not using the terminology of being in business), then make sure you have informed your insurer. You dont want to give them a get out clause from covering you properly - which you will have if you haven checked your fine print in their T&C.

And PS Kowksak - I seriously wouldnt wait to insure your gear - with that much listed in your signature, it wouldnt cost much to protect you from a very large replacement cost.

[rellik666]

Yup with my home insurer too....portable items cover....not worth not having it....covers accidental damage, total loss, theft etc.....cost about $150 for about $8000 worth of gear....shocking how quickly it adds up!

I am pretty sure that your home contents won't cover you if you sell your photos though...I think you need pro insurance.....

Roo

[chrisprendergast]

as a student dont think i can afford it at the moment alot of stuff for me to insure im sure it would cost to much

[kiwi]

baed on your investment, you're putting a lot at risk there Chris.

[Longshots]

Roo - yes your home insurance can cover some items (RACQ definitely does) - even if you're pro or sell. You do need to make sure they know your position though.

Chris are you kidding with the student excuse ? You have more up to date gear than many pros I know. Seriously with this much gear thats a very big risk.:

|Gear|Canon 5D MkII + Grip |Canon 580EXII x 3|Canon EF MP-E 65mm Macro |Canon EF 16-35mm F/2.8L |Canon EF 70-200mm F/2.8L IS |Canon EF 24-105mm F/4 L IS |Canon EF 100mm F/2.8 Macro |Canon EF 50mm F/1.8 MK II |Sekonic L-358 Lightmeter |Manfrotto 055XPROB Tripod + 322RC2 Head |Manfrotto 628B Monopod | Wireless Remote Flash Trigger PT-04 CN & 5 Receivers| Plus Too Much More (Filters Ect)

More to the point, with that type of investment, can you afford not to insure ? To be honest, if you cant afford it, then sell one of the lenses and then get it ASAP. Over the years I've seen lives literally ruined by people having gear stolen, loss, fire etc, and all because they didnt cover the cost of the insurance. My very rough estimate of the replacement value of your gear would be approaching $20,000.

[kingwheatie]

I think the minimum PL insurance for motorsport is $10 million.
I have my gear insured through AON which have a "Cameramans insurance policy",
covers both gear and public liability together.

[kiwi]

Roo - yes your home insurance can cover some items (RACQ definitely does) - even if you're pro or sell. You do need to make sure they know your position though.

Chris are you kidding with the student excuse ? You have more up to date gear than many pros I know. Seriously with this much gear thats a very big risk.:


More to the point, with that type of investment, can you afford not to insure ? To be honest, if you cant afford it, then sell one of the lenses and then get it ASAP. Over the years I've seen lives literally ruined by people having gear stolen, loss, fire etc, and all because they didnt cover the cost of the insurance. My very rough estimate of the replacement value of your gear would be approaching $20,000.

Yeah, but I think id sell the lightmeter first

[bigdazzler]

as a student dont think i can afford it at the moment alot of stuff for me to insure im sure it would cost to much

seriously ?? If you can afford a few hundred bucks to protect it all, how did you afford it all in the first place ??

[Digiphilic]

I did a quick online quote with Protecsure. Premium for $9500 worth of equipment is $406 p.a with $250 excess for each and every item claim.

Also called NRMA just now to see how much if I want to include the gears with contents policy. The extra premium is about $300 but excess per claim is $1000.

Protecsure sounds like a better deal here. Would you agree?

[mercho]

I did a quick online quote with Protecsure. Premium for $9500 worth of equipment is $406 p.a with $250 excess for each and every item claim.

Also called NRMA just now to see how much if I want to include the gears with contents policy. The extra premium is about $300 but excess per claim is $1000.

Protecsure sounds like a better deal here. Would you agree?

Excess sounds a bit rich for NRMA, you should be able to drop that down to around $300 and increase the payment a bit?

I have been looking into it as well, im going to go the line of Contents insurance with the "portable" option or what ever it is i think...

[bigdazzler]

Im with Allianz ... check them out. Costs me $1000 per year to insure my contents only (Im renting) for $95,000, including $12,500 for camera gear and macbook. Excess on a general claim is $250. Excess on a claim for one of the portable items (ie. camera stuff or macbook) is $100.

[Xevious]

My gear is insured with my home contents, I have specified all the individual photography items.

[etherial]

Mine is with RACV, and cost me about an extra $200 to insure gear to the value of about $9000.

Given you use it out and about in public areas and you often put your bag down and are often distracted, NOT having insurance is insane!

[mikew09]

Yep - Didn't until I bought my first descent glass and then when I did the sums of what I have in the bag I realised I could not afford to replace it. Covered under contents and external use for all including accidental damage.

Seemed silly to cart around 5 grands worth of gear and not have it covered.

[Darvidanoar]

Its quite common for especially pro photographers to take out public liability insurance. Imagine at a racetrack IF your lens cap falls off into the path or a car and it crashes into the crowd

Or at a pro rugby match a player trips over you and breaks a leg

Or at a wedding, your light stand at a church falls over. knocks a candle over and burns down the church

Ridiculous examples probably, butt you get the idea

In an increasingly litigious society it's worth thinking about

Thanks, Kiwi. Good explanation.

Next time I'm out out extreme sporting, I'll have to remember to look for a photographer to crash into if I get into trouble. That way I'll be covered LOL